A Judas' belt, sometimes called Judah's belt (and spelled as ''Judas's Belt''), is a type of

firecracker A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental to ...

that produces multiple

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume of a given amount of matter associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Explosions may also be generated ...

s. It is one of the most popular firecrackers in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

during

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

celebrations.

Etymology

Known as ''Sinturón ni Hudas'' ( Tagalog for "Judas' belt," from the Spanish ''cinturón de Judas''). the firecracker's name originates from its use in an old

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

tradition during

Holy Week Holy Week () commemorates the seven days leading up to Easter. It begins with the commemoration of Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, marks the betrayal of Jesus on Spy Wednesday (Holy Wednes ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and its former colonies, wherein a chain of firecrackers is strapped to a papier mache effigy of

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of sil ...

and then lit up. The explosion then burns the said effigy to ashes. This practice of burning the effigy mostly happens during Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and although it has been long discontinued in the Philippines, the aforementioned practice is still prevalent in Spain and Mexico.

Description

The firecracker consists of a number of small explosives that can be either tubular or triangular in shape, wrapped in thick paper, and arranged sequentially along with a common fuse and a bigger firecracker at the other end. The small triangular shaped explosives, which is also known as ''triangulos'', each measure typically length in its longest side while the tubular shaped firecrackers, which is known as ''el diablos'' or ''diablos'', each measure typically long and in diameter. The bigger firecracker at the end is usually a ''bawang'', which essentially a bigger ''triangulo''. The belt can be laid out on the ground or suspended from something like a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or serves a decorative purpose. There are various types of walls, including border barriers between countries, brick wal ...

. The end of the fuse is lit, and as the fuse burns, it ignites each of the explosives with a noise similar to a machine gun. A typical belt contains only up to one hundred or more. Its longer counterpart is called ''sawa'', the Tagalog term for python.

Safety

In the Philippines,

Republic Act This article contains a partial list of Philippine laws. Sources of Philippine laws ;Notes : *Customs may be considered as supplementary source of law, however, customs which are contrary to law, public order or public policy shall not ...

7183 was enacted to regulate and to control the sale, distribution, manufacture and use of firecrackers for

public safety Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

. According to the said law, Judas's belt is a legal firecracker although bigger versions of the Judas's belt are banned.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Judas Belt Types of fireworks